Gabriel: ‘This cannot happen’

Gabriel Paulista has sent out a strong message for the rest of the Arsenal squad after back-to-back defeats in the Premier League.

The Gunners were actually on top of the table after their 3-1 triumph over Stoke City which came ahead of Chelsea’s clash with West Brom a day later.

However, a run of three straight 1-0 victories for the Blues along with Arsenal’s 2-1 defeats away at Everton and Manchester City has seen the Gunners drop to 4th in the table, nine points behind the league leaders.

Thus, Gabriel has called for the entire team to get their act together before the gap becomes even bigger.

“We had two away games to gain six points, and we ended up not achieving that,” Gabriel said after the game. “We lost both games on reversals [losing from a winning position], with basic mistakes.

“This cannot happen. I think each of us needs to reflect and try to keep each other in check. We must know how to demand from each other, and how to respect each other.

“We were coming from a good string of games, and met Everton feeling totally confident that we would win the match. We did start out winning, but ended up suffering a comeback – once again.

“We conceded two goals, which is something that just can’t happen to a team as big as ours. And it wasn’t different on Sunday.

“We started out winning and ended up losing on a comeback. I think now is a good time for the team to stop and think about the mistakes we’ve made in these two games to try and improve on that.”